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2 clusters · 4 sources · 4 days · First seen · Last updated

NASA Artemis II Orion heat shield performance

Overview

NASA has confirmed that the Orion spacecraft’s thermal protection system performed as intended during the Artemis II mission. The crewed mission, which traveled around the Moon, faced extreme reentry conditions where external temperatures exceeded 2,200°C (approximately 4,000°F) and speeds reached 39 times the speed of sound.

To address heat shield wear observed during the Artemis I mission, engineers modified the reentry trajectory for Artemis II to limit the duration of heat exposure. Post-mission analysis and inspections by U.S. Navy divers indicated that these adjustments were successful. Specifically, inspections recorded only nine instances of carbon layer loss, a significant reduction from the 103 instances noted during Artemis I. The spacecraft also demonstrated high precision, splashing down within 0.95 kilometers of its predicted location.

Entities

Artemis II · NASA · Orion · U.S. Navy · Ames Research Center

Timeline

  1. [TECHNOLOGY] 2 sources
    NASA confirms Orion heat shield performance during Artemis II mission

    NASA confirmed the Orion spacecraft's heat shield successfully protected the Artemis II crew during high-speed atmospheric reentry, where external temperatures exceeded 4,000 degrees Fahrenheit.

  2. [TECHNOLOGY] 2 sources
    NASA confirms Orion heat shield performance during Artemis II reentry

    NASA analysis confirms the Orion spacecraft's heat shield successfully protected the Artemis II crew during high-speed atmospheric reentry, showing significantly reduced damage compared to Artemis I.

Sources

bug.hr · kosmonautix.cz · saobentoemfoco.com.br · viagemegastronomia.com.br